Gathering benefit for counties off tourist trail

Research by Fáilte Ireland indicates that counties off the main tourist trails were the main beneficiaries of The Gathering tourism initiative.

Last year saw a major rebound in Irish tourism, with foreign tourists numbers up 6.4% to almost 6.7m and their spending up 12.2% to €3.3bn. It is estimated that more than 5,000 Gathering events were responsible for up to 270,000 extra overseas visitors and €170m in additional revenue.

The report by Fáilte Ireland shows that the strongest growth levels in overseas visitors were seen in Border regions and in parts of the Midlands.